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Tommy Hilfiger and Billy Reid

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Dee Ocleppo and Creatures of the Wind's Christopher Peters

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Prabal Gurung

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Original trench coats created by each designer

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Albertus Swanepoel

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Monique Péan

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Gregory Parkinson

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Simon Spurr sunglasses

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Tommy Hilfiger poses with the ten

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Walking into the gilded halls of the American Embassy for the reception of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund “Americans in Paris” initiative yesterday was an enchanting experience for out-of-towners and locals alike. “Did you know this place was built by an American woman?” asked designer Prabal Gurung, who eschewed his usual T-shirt and jeans uniform in favor of a sharply tailored suit.

The day started, however, hours earlier with Tommy Hilfiger, the official sponsor of the initiative, visiting the “Americans in Paris” showroom in the Palais-Royal, a forum in which ten designers—all of whom were former Fashion Funders—could share their work with international retailers and buyers in town to take in the shows during Paris Fashion Week.

After the showroom closed for the day, the group made its way to the embassy for a celebratory (and well-deserved) cocktail party hosted by U.S. ambassador to France, Charles Rivkin, and his wife, Susan Tolson. Creatures of the Wind designers Christopher Peters and Shane Gabier and Suno’s Max Osterweis and Erin Beatty were among the Fashion Fund alum that had flown in that morning, and they mingled with a chicly dressed crowd that included Caroline Issa and models Arizona Muse and Jourdan Dunn, both of whom seemed almost as mesmerized by jewelry designer Pamela Love’s intricate tattoos as the lavish surroundings. “I’m going to New York next week—I love America!,” laughed Olivier Rousteing, creative director of Balmain.

The party continued late into the night with a dinner hosted by Hilfiger, at the restaurant Silencio on rue de Montmartre, and ended with a surprise performance by Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth.See the photo diary above.